Paint roller with coating thickness indicator and method for forming said indicator



I Oct. 28, 1969 F BURNS ETAL 3,474,482

PAINT ROLLER WITH COATING THICKNESS INDICATOR AND METHOD FOR FORMINGSAID INDICATOR Filed Nov. 14, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l/ncen flflalsimOct. 28, 1969 'F B, BURN ETAL 3,474,482

PAINT ROLLER WITH COATING THICKNESS INDICATOR AND METHOD FOR FORMINGSAID INDICATOR Filed Nov. 14, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States PatentUS. Cl. 15230.11 19 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An apparatus forapplying paint, or the like, including means on the apparatus forindicating on the apparatus, or on the surface being painted, when theapplied layer of paint is less than a preselected thickness. In oneembodiment, portions of the pile are sheared to reduce the height andthe paint carrying capacity thereof.

The present application is a continuation-in-part of our copendingapplication Ser. No. 565,136, filed July 14, 1966, and assigned to thesame assignee as the present application.

This invention relates to applicators and more particularly toapplicators for applying a layer of paint to a surface.

One of the most important innovations in the paint industry is theproduction of one-coat hiding paints. Many of these paints areguaranteed to produce a sutlicient layer of paint on a wall or the likewith a single coat. The realization of one coat hiding depends not onlyon the paint ingredients but to an equally important extent upon theapplication of a sutficient thickness of paint on the wall. If the userapplies the paint significantly thinner than a layer produced by therecommended spreading rate, wet hiding may appear and upon drying thepaint will shrink and the background color will show through. Paintapplicators have been developed that will apply the recommendedspreading thickness provided that the paint load of the applicator isapplied to a restricted given area. If the user ignores the arearestriction, he will apply the paint too thinly.

An object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a paint applicatorhaving means to indicate on the painted surface when the applied layerof paint is below a preselected thickness thereby signaling the user toreload the applicator with paint.

The invention disclosed herein generally comprises a paint applicatorhaving a preselected paint holding ability sufficient to apply a layerof paint to accomplish the above mentioned one-coat hiding, including arelatively small indicating portion thereon having a paint holdingability less than the remainder of the paint applicator such that whenthe applied layer of paint is below the recommended thickness theindicating portion leaves a blank area in the applied layer of paintthereby signaling the user to reload the applicator with paint.

Other objects, features and advantages will be readily apparent from thefollowing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawingsin which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a roller type paint applicator embodyingthe invention;

FIG. 2 is a section taken generally along the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial section similar to that of FIG. 2 on an enlargedscale illustrating one method of forming the indicating means of thisinvention by using a stencil and a burning element;

Patented Oct. 28, 1969 FIG. 4 illustrates a V method of applying a layerof paint, and shows the word load in the layer as would appear whenusing the invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates an alternate method of applying a layer of paint andshows an indicia similar to that of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of a paint roller formed in accordancewith a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of a pad type applicator embodying theprinciples of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 is a section view taken generally along line 8--8 of FIG. 7.

The term paint includes all mixtures of a pigment with some suitableliquid to form an adherent covering when spread on a surface fordecoration, protection and the like.

The invention is illustrated in FIG. 1 as embodied in a roller typepaint applicator, generally designated 10, wherein an indicating means12 is formed adjacent one end of a paint applying roller cover 14. Thenovel concept disclosed herein is also adaptable for other paintapplicators, as will hereinafter appear.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, the paint roller 10includes a handle 16 which has a straight shaft 18 upon which a cagestructure 20 is mounted for relative rotation about the shaft. Theroller cover 14 is in the form of a sleeve to permit ready removal andinsertion of the sleeve onto the cage structure for replacementpurposes. The roller cover 14 includes an outer paint applying material22 (FIGS. 2 and 3) which has a pile adapted to receive and hold apreselected amount of paint sufiicient to apply a layer of paint whichwill permit onecoat hiding. As stated above, if the user applies thepaint significantly thinner than the recommended layer thickness, wethiding may appear, but upon drying the paint will shrink and thebackground color will show through. Thus, the invention disclosed hereinincludes an indicating portion, generally designated 12, on the paintapplying roller cover 14 which has a lesser paint holding ability thanthe remainder of the roller. When the applied layer of paint is belowthe preselected recommended thickness, the indicating portion 12 leavesa blank area in the applied layer of paint thereby signaling the user toreload the roller with paint.

The present invention contemplates that the indicating means may beformed by a number of different manufacturing processes, such as, forpurposes of example and not of limitation, embossing, sealing orundercutting a permanent signal or message into the pile of the material22. With such processes, the signal portion 12 of the fabric material ispositioned at a level such that it'does not interfere with the normalapplication of a paint film, if it is substantially thick enough, but assoon as the applied film reaches a predetermined thinness, theindicating means 12 prints out a signal or message by leaving blankareas in the thin film. This is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 (as will be morefully set forth below) wherein the work load is indicated on the paintedsurface when the applied film reaches a predetermined thinness.

In preferred embodiments, the indicating portion 12 has a pile of lessthickness than the remainder of the rollers material 22 and consequentlyhas a less paint holding ability. Thus, the indicating portion will runout of paint before the remainder of the roller, and a signal or messagewill appear on the painted surface by leading blank areas when the filmbecomes sufiiciently thin.

The following are examples of suitable methods of forming the indicatingmeans and are specifically directed to the illustrated embodimentwherein a paint applying surface has a nap or pile for receiving andholding the preselected amount of paint. 4

(a) The material of the pain roller cover may be heat embossed with abranding iron so that the signal is burned into the pile therebyshortening the pile in the area of the indicating portion 12 andlessening its paint holding ability.

(b) The paint roller material may be sewed with an embroidery machine sothat the signal or message is formed directly into the material. Thesewing pulls down portions of the pile and thus decreases its paintholding ability.

(c) Referring to FIG. 3, a stencil 24, preferably of thin metal, may beprovided having the appropriate message cut out of the metal. Thestencil is placed tightly against the pile fabric 22 on a paint rollercover, so that portions of the pile fabric 26 extend through the cutoutsection of the stencil. This exposed fabric is then sheared off, burnedoff or heat shrunk by an appropriate shearing tool or heatelement 28 sothat when the stencil is removed an undercut area exists as the portionof the pile covered by the uncut section of the stencil returns to itsoriginal pile height, as at 22 in FIG. 3, leaving the signal or messageof a lesser height and thus a lesser paint holding ability.

(d) The paint roller fabric may be die cut leaving blank spaces wherethe signal or message is to be located and then inserting a substitutematerial of a lesser paint holding ability.

(e) A Jacquard loom may be employed whereby the high and low pile iswoven directly into the paint roller material.

(f) Chemical processes may also be used for etching the signal ormessage into the pile with a reacting liquid.

In a specific embodiment of the invention, which is merely exemplary andnot limiting, the paint roller cover 14 includes a pile of Dynel (asynthetic fiber made by the copolymerization of 40% acrylonitrite and60% vinyl chloride), and the signal on the roller cover is branded intothe pile, in accordance with Example a, supra. The pile throughout theroller cover (except at the signal portion 12) has an average height of.1875, and the pile at the signal portion has an average height of.1250", so that the pile throughout the roller cover is approximately 1/2 times as long as the pile in the signal portion. The above describedpaint roller is useful in applying a paint of the following compositionto obtain a spreading rate of 450 sq. ft. per gallon:

INTERIOR PAINT These above mentioned methods are illustrative ofsuitable methods of adapting a paint applicator so as to in clude thenovel indicating means disclosed herein. It must be noted that thefabric type roller cover is shown for illustrative purposes only, andthe invention may be embodied in other paint applicators. For instance,a standard paint brush may have different bristles along the brush withdifferent paint holding abilities to indicate when an insufficientamount of paint is held by the brush. The bristles of lesser paintholding ability may be disposed centrally of the brush or adjacent oneend so that when the paint in the brush reaches a preselected low level,the bristles of lesser paint holding ability will leave blank spaces onthe surface being painted to indicate that the brush is to be reloadedwith paint.

In using a paint roller embodying the invention disclosed herein, theroller is loaded with paint and rolled upon a surface to be painted.When the paint in the roller reaches a predetermined low level, i.e.,the user is applying a layer of paint that approaches the minimumrecommended thickness, the signal or message left by the blank areas inthe paint film appears on the wall and signals the user to reload theapplicator. FIGS. 4 and 5 show types of painting methods to illustratethe invention. FIG. 4 shows a V type painting method wherein theapplicator is rolled on a wall or the like forming a series of Vs untila signal 30 is marked on the surface. The user then goes back and levelsthe film to fill in the area between the VS. He then reloads the cover22 and continues to roll until the signal again appears on the surfacereminding him that the applied film is approaching minimum satisfactorythickness. FIG. 5 illustrates a method of applying paint wherein theuser simply continuously levels the film in a block 32 until the signalappears and he is reminded to reload his applicator.

Preferably, the indicating means is positioned adjacent the marginaledges of the applicator as illustrated in FIG. 1 such that the signalappears along the leading edge of the applied area of film (FIGS. 4 and5) so that the user knows the precise point at which the paint on theapplicator has reached its preselected low level.

In a modified form of the invention illustrated in FIG. 6, theindicating means 12 is such as to indicate on the paint applicatoritself when the user is to reload the applicator. The indicating portion12 of the roller is darkened, as by the application of black paint, toset that portion off from the remainder of the roller. When sufficientpaint is on the roller, the darkened portion 12' does not show throughthe paint. But when the paint load reaches a preselected low level, thedarkened portion 12' on the applicator would be visible to the usersignaling the user to reload the applicator. The black paint, when driedon the pile of applicator, lessens the paint holding ability of theindicating portion. Indicating portion 12', therefore, will also give anindication on the wall when the paint load reaches the preselected lowlevel.

As is mentioned above, the present invention contemplates that theindicating means may be provided on various types of applicators. InFIGS. 7 and 8 a pad type applicator is indicated in its entirety byreference number 40, and applicator 40 may be the same as that disclosedin Burns et al. application Ser. No. 657,884. As is explained in detailin the Burns et al. application, applicator 40 includes a rigid backingmember 41 adapted to be connected to an appropriate handle, anintermediate, preferably resilient member 42 having its upper surfacebonded to the lower surface of backing member 41, and a paint holdingmember 43 secured to the lower surface of intermediate member 42. Thepaint holding member 43 typically includes a plurality of short, erectfibers that are distributed uniformly over the lower surface of thepaint holding member 43. In the embodiment of FIGS. 7 and 8, indicatingmeans is provided in the paint holding member 43, and illustratively theindicating means may take the form of an elongate channel or groove 44.As is evident from FIG. 7, groove 44 is positioned in a parallelrelationship to the preferred directions of movement of the face of theapplicator 40. Channel 44 may be made by shearing, branding, weaving orany of the other methods mentioned in connection with the embodiment ofFIGS. l-5. In operation the pad 43 is fully loaded with paint and thenwiped on a surface, preferably in one direction. Paint will be appliedto the surface being painted across the width of the pad 43 until theapplication thickness diminishes to a predetermined level. At this pointfrom the channel 44 will cease to be applied, thus leaving a blankstripe the width of the channel 44 on the application surface. Uponseeing this signal the user goes back and smooths out the applied film,preferably by using the pad 43 at a slightly oblique angle to theoriginal alignment axis. The purpose of this is to prevent the channel44 from forming a pronounced stripe in the paint film during thesmoothing operation.

In a specific embodiment of the invention, which is merely exemplary andnot limited, the paint holding member 43 of the applicator 40 includes apile of nylon that Pigment:

Titanium Dioxide 55. Inert Pigment and Tinting Color 45. 0%

Total 100. 0% Vehicle:

Non Volatile Volatile (Water) 54. 0%

Total 100. 0% 100. 0%

While we have shown and described certain embodiments of our invention,it is to be understood that it is capable of many modifications.Changes, therefore, in the construction and arrangement may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention asdisclosed in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. An applicator, comprising: means for applying a liquid to a surface,said means being adapted to coat said surface with a layer of liquid ofa preselected thickness, and means on said liquid applying means forindicating when the applied layer of liquid is below said preselectedthickness whereby the user will reload said liquid applying means withliquid.

2. The applicator of claim 1 wherein said indicating means is detectableon said liquid applying means when the applied layer of liquid is belowsaid preselected thickness.

3. The applicator of claim 1 wherein said indicating means is detectableon said surface when the applied layer of liquid is below saidpreselected thickness.

4. The applicator of claim 1 wherein said liquid applying means is amaterial having a preselected liquid holding ability suflicient to applya layer of liquid of said preselected thickness and said indicatingmeans is a material having a liquid holding ability less than saidliquid applying means.

5. The applicator of claim 4 wherein said paint applying means is amaterial having a pile adapted to receive and hold a preselected amountof liquid sufficient to properly coat said surface and said indicatingportion is a part of said material having a pile adapted to hold lessthan said preselected amount of liquid.

6. The applicator of claim 5 wherein the thickness of the pile of saidindicating portion is less than the thickness of the pile of theremainder of said liquid applying means.

7. The applicator of claim 6 wherein said indicating portion includes aword formed in said paint applying means.

8. The applicator of claim 1 wherein said liquid applying means is aroller having said indicating means adjacent a one marginal edgethereof.

9. The applicator of claim 1 wherein said liquid applying means is afirst pad member, said indicating means being defined by a recessedportion of said pad member.

10. A paint applying device for coating a wall or the like with a layerof paint of a preselected thickness comprising, a roller including apaint applying surface of a fabric material having a pile adapted toreceive and hold a preselected amount of paint suificient to apply saidpreselected layer of paint to said wall, said paint applying surfaceincluding an indicating portion, said indicating portion having a pileadapted to hold less than said preselected amount of paint such thatwhen the applied layer of paint is below said preselected thickness saidindicating portion leaves a blank area in said applied layer of paintthereby signaling a user to reload said paint applying surface withpaint.

11. The paint applying device of claim 10 wherein the thickness of thepile of said indicating portion is less than the thickness of the pileof the remainder of said paint applying surface thereby having a lesserpaint holding ability.

12. The paint applying device of claim 10 wherein the pile of saidindicating portion is sheared such that the pile of said portion isshorter than the pile of the remainder of said paint applying surface.

13. The paint applying device of claim 10 wherein the pile of saidindicating portion is sheared such that the pile of said portion isshorter than the pile of the remainder of said paint applying surface.14. The paint applying device of claim 10 wherein said indicatingportion is woven into said fabric material and has a shorter pile thanthe remainder of said paint applying means.

15. The method of forming a signaling means on a paint applicator suchthat the signaling means indicates to a user when an applied layer ofpaint is below a preselected thickness, wherein said method includestreating a portion of the applicator to lessen the paint holding abilityof said portion so that said portion leaves a blank area in said appliedlayer of paint thereby signaling the user to reload the applicator withpaint.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein said treating includes cutting saidsignaling means into the pile of a fabric applicator so that the pile ofsaid portion is shorter than the remainder of the applicator.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein said treating includes holding aperforated stencil against said fabric applicator so that a portion ofthe pile extends through said perforations, and removing said extendingportion so that the pile of said portion is shorter than the remainderof said applicator when the stencil is removed.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein said treating includes searing saidsignaling means in the pile of a fabric applicator such that the pile ofsaid portion is shorter than the remainder of said applicator.

19. The method of claim 15 wherein said treating includes etching saidsignaling means in the pile of a fabric applicator by means of areacting liquid such that the pile of said portion is shorter than theremainder of said applicator.

. References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,368,513 1/1945 Adams 15230.112,467,010 4/ 1949 Coley 15230.1 1 2,887,711 5/ 1959 Hutchinson 15230.11

FOREIGN PATENTS 880,228 10/1961 Great Britain.

WALTER A. SCHEEL, Primary Examiner R. I. SMITH, Assistant Examiner US.Cl. X.R. 300-21

